Carry me through
by redskybluecherry
Summary: Brie Bella feels like her world is crashing down on her - her sister has just betrayed her, her husband doesn't seem to care, and she's all alone. Except there is someone who understands. Someone who actually cares. [Brie/Roman]; Oneshot.


**Hey guys! This is just a little oneshot I started a long time ago, and I just had some time to finish it the other day. It's nothing too special, but I felt like uploading it since I really like Brie and Roman as a pairing.  
** **I'm still working on the next chapter for "Through the Dark" which will hopefully be finished by the end of next week.  
** **Hope you enjoy this, reviews are love!  
Cheers :)**

* * *

Brie Bella walked through the courtain backstage, trying to keep the tears from streaming down her face, and failing. She still couldn't comprehend why Nikki, her own twin sister, her best friend and other half, could have said those horrible things to her. Yes, Brie had been shocked after Nikki's betrayal of her at _SummerSlam_. After she had realized it had been her sister who had just cost her the match against her vindictive boss, Stephanie McMahon, she had thought that this had to be the worst day of her whole life. But she had been wrong, terribly wrong. What Nicole had just said to her had been even worse. Brie didn't remember the last time she had felt this empty inside.  
When Nikki had screamed in her face that she w _ished Brie had died in the womb_ , the womb the two of them had shared together, even after Brie had offered her sister forgiveness for her betrayal, Brie felt like something deep inside her had died, like her heart had stopped beating and yet she was still breathing.  
After everything she had to go through for the past few months – Stephanie's bullying, her fights with Daniel and his misunderstanding of her situation, leading to a severe crisis in their marriage – Brie had always told herself that Nikki would be her safe haven, always being there for her and never giving up on her.  
But apparently, she had been wrong.  
Brie kept her head down as she headed backstage, not wanting anyone to see her cry, although everyone had already seen it and everybody had heard what Nikki had said, of course.  
 _I bet they are loving this_ , Brie thought. _Even though they are pitying me when I'm around, secretly they just love to see me broken_.

Brie grabbed her stuff from the locker room as quickly as possible. Although she appreciated the concern of her friends in the Divas division, she didn't want to talk to any of them right now. She just wanted to get out of the arena and drive back to her hotel room, where she could cuddle with her pillow and cry herself to sleep, if necessary.  
What she was sure of, was that she couldn't bare the glares and stares of the other women right now.  
As she made her way out of the arena, she suddenly ran into someone, falling down and letting out a small shriek of surprise.  
She tried to wipe away the tears and the mascara under her eyes, and mumbled: "I'm sorry, I didn't see you", before looking up.  
She found herself looking into the eyes of a seemingly concerned Roman Reigns.  
"It's no problem", he said with that ever-so-calming voice of his.  
Brie tried to make her way past him, but he laid his hands on her shoulders softly, stopping her from leaving.  
"Look, Roman, I appreciate your concern, but I really want to leave", Brie said, unsure of the intentions of the man.  
Roman cleared his throat and replied: "You know, what you did out there… offering your sister a chance at forgiveness… that was really brave of you." He looked her in the eyes, and somewhere deep inside those orbs of his, she somehow sensed some understanding, some sympathy for what she was going through. The next moment, she quickly told herself how stupid and naïve she had to be to think something as unlikely as that, and looked down at the ground. _  
_"I'm not a great talker", Roman said, causing Brie to look up at him again, "But I'm pretty good at listening… I know we don't exactly know each other very well but… If you need someone to be there, then, I'm here."

Brie somehow managed to smile and hold back her tears for a second. "Thank you", she told Roman, and then proceeded to make her way out of the arena.  
Roman stood there, watching her walk away until he couldn't see her anymore.

\- **A few days later –**

Brie Bella sat on the bed in her hotel room listening to her favourite band, trying to distract herself from the rest of the world, from the thoughts inside of her head, from her feelings, if only just for moment. But it wasn't working. The harder she tried to force all the negative emotions from her mind, the more forceful they came crashing down on her.  
 _I just can't take this anymore,_ she thought. _First Nikki breaks my heart, and now even Bryan leaves me alone. Bryan…_  
She sniffed, trying to hold back the tears, but failing.  
Despite his lack of understanding of the fight between herself and Nikki, Brie had thought she could always count on her husband when it mattered. A mistake, she had to realize.  
When she called Daniel the day before, he hadn't picked up, so she left him a voicemail. He didn't call back. When she called him again this afternoon, he picked up, sounding sleepy and kind of hungover. She asked him why he hadn't called back or whether he had at least listened to her message, and all he could come up with was that he had been _out drinking with the guys_ and that _he had simply forgotten about it_.  
He had asked her whether she was angry, and she had told him no, and that was the truth. She wasn't angry, she was simply disappointed.  
In that voicemail, she had basically poured her heart out to him, and had told him how glad she was that at least he was still with her. And he had _forgotten_ to reply.  
But maybe, that was simply what she was to most people these days - _an afterthought_. _Forgettable_. _Not worth the time or the trouble_.  
Brie wanted to cry, to scream and to laugh at the bizarre sadness of her whole situation at the same time. Instead, she decided she couldn't stand to be in her room any longer, trapped inside its walls together with her unbearable thoughts.  
So she went down to the hotel bar.

\- **Later** –

It had taken three shots of vodka and two cocktails for Brie to make the decision she was utterly drunk. Unlike others, she wasn't really used to drinking alcohol, since she tried to avoid it most of the time.  
She was currently sitting at the bar, sipping at her third cocktail, trying not to think about how ridiculous she probably looked.  
A drunk woman, alone, at a hotel bar. _They must think I'm pathetic_ , she thought.  
In the course of the evening, a few guys had tried to chat her up, offering to buy her a drink or even trying to grab her at her shoulder or pulling strands of her hair behind her ear. She had brushed them all off, the barkeeper helping her with one man who got particularly invasive, earning a sad smile from her.  
Brie looked at the huge clock over the bar and decided it was time for her to go before she would embarrass herself even further. As she hopped off the stool she'd been occupying, she suddenly found herself feeling extremely dizzy and stumbling. The moment she knew she was going to fall down, though, she suddenly felt strong hands on her shoulders, steadying her. She looked up, ready to fight off another unwanted admirer, and found herself staring into the eyes of Roman Reigns.  
As drunk as she was, Brie tried to offer her best attempt at an apologetic smile without giving away any of her sadness, and managed to say: "Oh, I'm so sorry, I think I've had a little bit too much this evening. Thank you for helping me, I think I'll better leave now."  
He didn't return her smile and didn't let go of her, although he softened his grip on her shoulders. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, seemingly worried. "I don't think you'll make it up to your room safely in your state."  
Brie was confused, and the alcohol made her feel bolder than she would normally be.  
"Why do you care if I'm alright?" she asked bluntly. "It doesn't have anything to do with you."  
He looked to the ground for a second, then looking at her again. "It would definitely irresponsible of me to leave a drunk lady alone when she clearly needs some help", he asked. Somehow, Brie wanted to ask if there was another reason, or if he was really only being polite, but her head was starting to hurt and all she could think of was wanting to go to her room and sleep until she felt better.  
"Well, ok then", she said. With Roman supporting her shoulders and keeping her from stumbling, the two made it from the lobby back to Brie's room.  
After some fumbling with the keys, Brie simply walked in her room, leaving her door open. She went to the bedside table, pulled out a headache pill and immediately swallowed it with some water. _Better_ , she thought.  
When she turned around, Roman was still standing in her doorway, apparently unsure whether he should come in or leave.  
"Thanks for helping me", Brie said, and this time her smile was actually serious. "I don't want to waste anymore of your time, but I definitely owe you", she said.  
"What makes you think you're wasting my time?" he asked, looking at her with an incredibly serious expression on his face.  
"I… well, I don't know, I just figured", she replied, unsure what to feel. "You… you can come in, if you want", she blurted out, trying to fight the blush she felt covering her cheeks.  
He simply closed the door and went over to sit on the bed next to her.  
They sat in uncomfortable silence, until Roman said: "The offer still stands, you know. If you need someone to listen, I'm still here."  
Brie's eyes widened as she looked at him. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she whispered, looking back at the ground.  
He slowly, ever so lightly placed his hand over hers. "Because you let me", he said. "And because I want to."  
Brie tried to hold it in, but she couldn't contain herself any longer. Everything inside of her snapped, and she found herself crying, trying to cover her face.  
"It's just so absurd, you know", she tried to say in between her tears, "you're being here for me although you don't need to, whereas the people who actually _should be_ simply don't care."  
Roman carefully took her hands away from her face, taking her in his arms afterwards. "I care", he said.  
"Just hold me, please", Brie managed to say, before she buried herself in his embrace, not wanting him to let go. And he didn't.


End file.
